Hand utensils such as brushes or the like



June 20, 1961 B. J. GIBBS 2,988,764

HAND UTENSILS SUCH AS BRUSHES OR THE LIKE iled Feb. 24, 1960 UnitedStates Patent 2,988,764 HAND UTENSILS SUCH AS BRUSHES OR THE LIKEBernard James Gibbs, Rustington, England, assignor to Light SteelSectional Constructions Limited, a British company Filed Feb. 24, 1960,Ser. No. 10,724

Claims priority, application Great Britain May 11, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl.176) This invention relates to hand utensils such as brushes or the likeof the type in which a backing for reception of bristles, a surface pador the like, is detachably mounted on a holder so that the two may beseparated for replacement or cleaning of the former.

The normal construction of a hand brush, such as a hair brush or clothesbrush, comprises a perforated backing with bristles set in theperforations and projecting usually from one face. Also, for decorativeeifect the reverse face of the holder is sometimes covered by adecorative surface, and the difficulty then arises that when it isdesired to clean the brush after use extreme care must be .taken toensure that the cleaning material does not damage the decorativesurface.

To overcome this difiiculty it has previously been proposed to constructa brush so that the bristles and the backing, to which they are affixed,are removable from the holder. In one such construction it has beenproposed to provide an outstanding lug at one end of the holder whichengages the backing, the two parts being held in position by a springclip located at the other end of the backing and which may be-disengagedas desired to remove the backing. 1 v

However, in all the previous constructions where the backing has beenremovable from the holder, it has been found that it may inadvertentlybecome detached from a holder and furthermore, after being in use for ashort time, the two parts frequently become loose.

It is the main object of this invention to provide a brush or the likewhich overcomes the above disadvantage's in a simple manner.

According to the present invention there is provided a hand utensil ofthe type specified, wherein at least one slot is. provided in either thebacking or the holder for reception of a substantially complementaryprojection on the other, together with resilient means located adjacenteach slot, so that to effect engagement of the holder and backing eachprojection is entered into a slot and moved so that part of eachprojection lies to one side of its slot and engages said resilient meansto hold the two parts in engagement.

Y The invention also includes a hand utensil of the type specified,wherein two substantially L-shaped slots are provided in the holder forreception of substantially complementary projections on the backing, andin which a curved leaf spring is located adjacent each slot and betweenthe limbs thereof, so that to effect engagement of the holder andbacking each projection is entered into its slot and movedlongitudinally thereof, so that part of each projection lies to one sideof its slot and engages its curved leaf spring to hold the two parts inengagement.

In this specification the expression hand utensil is intended to includenot only household brushes, such as hair or clothes brushes, but alsobrooms and polishing devices in which a working surface may become wornor dirty and requires cleaning or replacement.

In order to carry the invention into effect, two embodiments thereofwill now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing by wayof example only, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of part of a hand utensil holderconstructed according to the invention;

Patented June 20, 1961 FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hand utensilbacking according to the invention for engagement with the hold,- ershown in FIG. 1; Q

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line IIIII;I of FIG. 1; u

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of FIG. 2; A v

FIG. 5 is an underneath perspective view 0 part of the holder shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an underneath perspective view of part of a modified form ofholder according to the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of backing according tothe invention.

Referring now to the drawing, a hand utensil in the form of a brushcomprises essentially a backing 1 suitably perforated so as to receivebristles 2. Said backing 1 may be made of wood or plastics material, andthe bristles may be natural or artificial as desired. The brush alsoincludes a holder 3 having a facingplate .4 and a channel-shapedsurround 5 which encloses the periphery of facing plate 4 and is heldclosed by a handle ferrule 6 attached to the holder in any convenientmanner. One such method of attachment is illustrated in FIG. 3 in whichthe holder is provided with a backing plate 7 which is welded orotherwise afiixed to a rod 8 which passes through the handle and isfixed by a nut to the handle at its end remote from the holder.

The backing 1 is provided at its underside (as shown in FIG. 2,) withtwo projections 9 which may be moulded into a plastic pad or screwed,adhesively or otherwise attached to the reverse side of the backing.These projections 9 are substantially L-shaped in plan view and each hasa cut-away portion 10 which forms an inclined s rface 11 so as to enableeasy engagement of the backing with the holder. The ends of projections9 are provided with flats 12 which abut the ends of complementary slots13 formed in the facing plate 4 of the holder.

Each'end of these slots 13 is provided with downturned lugs 14 which, aswill be seen from FIG. 3, extend to the inside of the backing plate ofthe holder and in effect form stops at the ends of the slots 13 whichare engaged by the ends 12 of projections 9.

As will be seen more particularly in FIG. 5, laterally of the slots 13are located two resilient members in the form of curved leaf springs 15which are attached to a metal strip 16 held on the underside of thefacing plate 4 by a lug 17 pressed out of the facing plate 4.Alternatively springs 15 may be made in one piece. It will be seen thatthese two curved leaf springs 15' lie between the limbs of the L-shapedslots 13 and are positioned so as to be engaged by the inclined surface11 of the projections 9.

Part of the facing plate 4 is provided with a recess 18 so as to aifordease in disengagement of the backing from the holder.

It will be appreciated that in use, to effect engagement of the holderand backing the projections 9 are passed through their appropriate slots13 and then moved so that part of each projection lies to one side ofits slot and engages the curved leaf spring 15 to hold the two parts inengagement. The curved leaf spring 15 engages with the inclined surface11 so that the spring is deformed and thereby holds the backing hardagainst the facing plate. The ends 12 of projections 9 will be inabutting relation with the stops =14 atthe ends of slots 13. The stops14 serve to prevent any inadvertent disengagement between the backingand holder by relative sliding movement in a direction opposite to thatinvolved in connecting the backing with the holder. To effectdisengagement of the holder and backing the end of the backing .nearestthe handle of the brush is depressed so that that end enters recess 18in the facing plate. This will cause the other end of backing 1 to beraised clear of the facing plate and the forward fiat faces 12 ofprojections 9 will engages the curved leaf spring 15a to effect a goodlock.

Detachment of the two parts is effected in exactly the same manner asfor the previous embodiment, and for this purpose the facing plate 4a isprovided with a recess 18a.

It will be appreciated that the construction of the holder and thebacking may be modified as desired within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims,

for example, more than two projections and corresponding complementaryslots may be provided and other forms of resilient means may also beused.

I claim:

1. A hand utensil comprising a backing member for mounting thereon aworking element such as bristles, or a pad or the like, a handle memberincluding a facing plate and means detachably connecting said backingmember to said facing plate, said detachable connecting means comprisingat least one slot established in said fac- "ing' plate and acorresponding projection on said backing member adapted to be enteredinto said slot from the upper-side of said facing plate and slidrelative thereto so that a part of said projection overlies a marginalportion of the slot to thereby connect said backing member to. saidfacing plate, a holding spring member secured to, the under side of saidfacing plate and which is engaged by said projection when saidbackingmember and facing plate reach a connected position, a stop at oneend of said slot which is engaged by an end face of said projection whensaid backing member and facing plate occupy a connected position, saidstop serving to prevent inadvertent relative sliding movement betweensaid backing member and facing plate longitudinally of said slot in suchdirection as would effect a disconnection therebetween, and said facingplate including a depression'into which part of said backing member canbe moved thereby to enable said end face of said projection to beraisedclear of said stop whereupon said backing member and facing plate can bedisconnected by relative sliding movement therebetween to effect arelease of said projection from said slot. l

2. A hand utensil as defined in claim l wherein said holding springmember is constituted by a curved leaf spring and the leading end ofsaid projection which -is entered into said slot includes an inclinedsurface against which said leaf spring bears to thereby afford ease inctfecting engagement between said leaf spring and projection.

3. A hand utensil as defined in claim 1 wherein said facing plateincludes two parallel spaced slots and said backing member includes twoparallel spaced projections cooperative respectively with said slots,said slots and projections being substantially L-shaped, and there beinga holding spring member individual to each said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,932,878 Akizawa Oct. 31, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 84 ,884 Switzerland Apr.16, 19 20

